Tech Boys

If you had trouble using X today, you're not alone. DownDetector reports that over 5,000 people have reported issues accessing the social media platform as of 4PM ET. X's official Engineering account claims the issue is due to a data center outage. "X is aware some of our users are experiencing performance issues on the platform today," X's Engineering account writes. "We are experiencing a data center outage and the team is actively working to remediate the issue." The platform last experienced a major outage in March 2025. At the time, X CEO Elon Musk blamed the outage on a "massive cyberattack." Security researchers who looked into the issue later said it was poor security on X's part that left the company's servers vulnerable to attack. X is aware some of our users are experiencing performance issues on the platform today. We are experiencing a data center outage and the team is actively working to remediate the issue. — ...

China is officially eating Elon Musk's lunch in Europe. Market research firm JATO Dynamics said in a report on Thursday (via Reuters ) that Tesla fell behind Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD in EV sales in Europe in April. The lead isn't a huge one, per Reuters; BYD sold 7,231 EVs, while Tesla sold 7,165 vehicles. That said, this is apparently the first time this has happened, and it could potentially mark a turn in the global EV market away from Tesla and toward alternative manufacturers like BYD. SEE ALSO: Tesla Cybertruck loses top-selling EV truck crown Another factor that makes this impressive is that BYD's vehicles haven't been widely available in Europe for all that long, while Tesla has been a household name in the EV space for many years. JATO Dynamics analyst Felipe Munoz, quoted by Reuters, noted that BYD didn't expand outside of Norway and the Netherlands until late 2022. While there are likely several factors at play here, it seems ...

A group of GeoGuessr map creators have pulled their contributions from the game to protest its participation in the Esports World Cup 2025, calling the tournament "a sportswashing tool used by the government of Saudi Arabia to distract from and conceal its horrific human rights record." The protestors say the blackout will hold until the game's publisher, GeoGuessr AB, cancels its planned Last Chance Wildcard tournament at the EWC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 21 to 27. GeoGuessr   is a browser game where players try to pinpoint locations using only Google Street View images, and it relies on community mapmakers to stay relevant. The blackout, which began on May 21, includes "dozens of creators and their maps, including a supermajority of the most popular competitively relevant world maps," according to a statement the group shared on Reddit . The removed maps have been played tens of millions of times. One of the largest GeoGuessr communities, Plonk ...

Devices running Android 16 will pick up a new trick when the software update rolls out later this year: The ability to run a desktop-style interface while connected to an external display. An early version of the idea was spotted for phones in betas of Android 16, but as 9to5Google noticed , Google made the feature official during its developer keynote . According to the presentation, the new windowing and external display feature was created in collaboration with Samsung, "building on the foundation of Samsung DeX, to bring enhanced desktop windowing capabilities in Android 16." Prior to this official support, Samsung DeX was a custom feature Samsung built into One UI that allowed certain Samsung phones and tablets to display a desktop-style interface while connected to a display. Google's implementation seems to be aiming for the same thing, with resizable windows and a dock for your most used apps. The company also appears open to the feature working on tablets an...

Like the vast majority of people, my smartphone is often the first thing I look at in the morning and the last thing I look at before falling asleep. My iPhone serves as my alarm, my GPS, and my music player. Most importantly, it's the primary way I communicate with loved ones and stay on top of an evolving and overwhelming news cycle. I’m not alone in this regard.  A recent Pew study indicates 86 percent of American adults say they “at least sometimes” get news from a smartphone. Another study found that 20 percent of Americans feel “overloaded by information.” While these numbers provide some useful insights, many existing studies of American media consumption and social media use fail to closely analyze — or omit entirely — a key segment of the population: Asian Americans. Compared to the average American, Asian Americans have drastically different media consumption habits. For first-generation and limited-English proficient individuals, these contrasts are even greater....

It seems fitting that Nintendo didn’t reveal the Switch 2’s $450 price during its Direct stream this morning — it would have just bummed everyone out. After spending an hour hearing about how the Switch 2 practically fixes almost every problem we had with the original console, and seeing teasers for exciting games like Mario Kart World , why spoil the good vibes with the harsh reality of market economics? Instead, Nintendo revealed the console’s price in the lowliest of media communications: A simple press release. My first reaction was shock. $450 for a mostly portable console? That’s the same retail price as the PlayStation 5, a system that’s also currently on sale for $400 together with Astro-Bot . Sure, the Switch 2 is vastly superior to the original Switch, but it likely doesn’t have PS5-level hardware. The price jump is also surprising since the original Switch launched at $300 in 2017. Can you imagine we thought the $350 Switch OLED was too high-priced? Unfortunately, it’s...

The latest video game to be getting the TV show treatment is a pair of hugely popular mobile titles. Developer Supercell is partnering with Netflix for an animated series based on the world of its games Clash of Clans and Clash Royale . Fletcher Moules, who directed the original Clash of Clans animated videos on YouTube, will be the showrunner for the Netflix project and Ron Weiner, who has worked on Silicon Valley , 30 Rock , Futurama and Arrested Development , will be the head writer. Clash of Clans debuted in 2012 and the casual strategy game got a deck battler sequel in Clash Royale , which launched in 2016. According to the show announcement , the pair of games have more than 4 billion downloads and more than 180 billion gameplay hours logged by players. The Netflix show will center on the Barbarian character from this game universe as he tries to "rally a band of misfits to defend their village and navigate the comically absurd politics of war." The series is in p...

Google has injected AI features into practically all of its products, now including Chrome. At Google I/O , the tech giant's annual event, Google announced that Gemini is coming to Chrome as it transitions into the generative AI era, antitrust issues be damned . Gemini's integration with the browser means users can ask questions about information on sites, or even navigate to those sites, while browsing the web. SEE ALSO: Google AI Mode is launching in the U.S., kicking off a new era of AI search Gemini on Chrome will be available to Chrome users on Windows and macOS, but only for paying subscribers to Google AI Pro and AI Ultra plans, which cost $20 and $250 a month, respectively. Meanwhile, Google is in the remedial phase of its antitrust case, which the U.S. Department of Justice is prosecuting. Google has been  ruled a monopoly  for leveraging its Chrome browser in anti-competitive ways. The fate of Chrome is yet to be decided, but a potential outcome is forcing ...

23andMe had all the signs of a success story. The unicorn brand became synonymous with consumer-facing genetic testing, went public, and was once valued at $6 billion. But then, it all came tumbling down. Sales for 23AndMe kits began to fall, attempts to raise new funds hit a wall, the company struggled to find a product that would bring in recurring revenue, and it was still dealing with the fallout from a major data breach . 23andMe filed for bankruptcy and put its assets up for sale in March 2025. But, more concerning than the success or failure of a particular company, was this question: What would happen to 23andMe's vast trove of highly personal customer data? We aren't just talking about usernames and birthdays. 23andMe has DNA profiles for millions of users. Well, now we know who bought 23andMe and, most importantly, now owns all the DNA data from the company's customers. Meet Regeneron Pharmaceuticals On Monday, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced that it...

Google I/O, the search giant's annual developer conference, kicks off on Tuesday, May 20 . The event is arguably the most important on the company's annual calendar, offering the opportunity for the company to share a glimpse at everything it has been working on over the past year — and contextualize its biggest priorities for the next twelve months. The dance card for Google I/O was apparently so packed that the company spun off a dedicated Android showcase a whole week earlier. (See everything that was announced at the Android Show or go to our liveblog to get a feel for how things played out.) With that event now behind us, Google can stay focused on its most important core competency: AI.  Google's presentation will come on the heels of announcements from three big rivals in recent days. Further up the Pacific coast, Microsoft is hosting its Build developer conference , where it's already unveiled an updated Copilot AI app . Meanwhile, at the Computex show in...

Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans. Like the original Connections , the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle , Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections Sports Edition? The NYT 's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic , the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers an...

Just when we thought the wound of episode 2 might be healing, The Last of Us picks at the scab with episode 6. A flashback episode shows Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) in happier times, specifically, with a series of Ellie's birthdays in Jackson.  With the two of them finally safe and settled, Joel relishes giving Ellie a home and happy memories sprinkled with cake, handmade gifts, day trips, and even a song — which was teased in episode 5. And it's not just any song. Like the haunting cover that plays at the end of episode 2, Joel's tender ditty has a connection back to the game and beyond. What song does Joel sing to Ellie on her birthday?  Joel (Pedro Pascal) builds a guitar for Ellie in "The Last of Us." Credit: Liane Hentscher / HBO After Joel presents Ellie with the guitar he crafted with his own hands, she asks him to sing. He initially declines, but then reluctantly plays the instrument while singing softly:  "If I ever we...

Dangerous Animals has a killer hook: Jai Courtney stars as a deranged serial killer who uses sharks as his weapon of choice. It sounds bonkers, like something you'd see in an old Batman comic, in an Austin Powers movie, or on late-night TV, back when the ads were all 1-900 numbers. But props to screenwriter Nick Lepard and director Sean Byrne. They bring blood and bite to this funky premise, delivering a movie that's deep in dread, sweat, thrills, and chills.  Sure, when sharks swim into horror, things can get pretty gnarly. The all-time classic is Jaws , where the gore of chewed-up human remains is balanced with an engaging character-driven drama. Splashier slaughters came from that seminal film's more vicious offspring, ranging from the shark slasher Deep Blue Sea to more realistic thrillers like The Shallows and 47 Meters Down , with the over-the-top Jason Statham adventure The Meg and the proudly trashy Sharknado film series taking a more gonzo approach to the su...

You'll soon be able to get into your favorite games even faster with the updated Xbox home screen. According to Microsoft , Xbox Insiders are due to get three new customization options later this week that will make their dashboard feel a little more personal. As detailed in Xbox Wire , certain Xbox players will have options to reduce clutter and allow them to pull their favorite games to the front of the list. The first major change lets you pin up to three of your favorite games or apps to the recently-played list. Pinning these means that they'll stay near the front of your list even when you launch other apps occasionally. Beyond that, your Xbox will get the option to "Hide System Apps" which should reduce the clutter and tuck those less important shortcuts away. To further streamline your home screen, Xbox will introduce the "Reduce Tile Count" feature that lets you set how many visible tiles are in the recently opened games and apps list. With more co...

Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans. Like the original Connections , the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle , Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections Sports Edition? The NYT 's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic , the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers an...